Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Bank On It: The banks are anxious to pay the combined state Attorneys General $30 billion and enter a no-contest plea to absolve themselves of any and all crimes they committed during the housing boom and bust. What crimes? Nobody knows, and the banks hope no one ever does.

The Solution: Cisco Systems is trying to solve its problem by cutting 10,000 jobs. Maybe it'll work better for them than it has for Greece.

Talking Their Own Book: Chesapeake Energy, a big player in the shale gas business, says it 'would' invest $1 billion over the next ten years to “hasten the adoption of natural gas” as a transportation fuel. It thinks the government should spend a lot of money promoting this goal. Before you get too enthused about shale gas salvation, go read Stoneleigh!

Fair Warning: Chancellor Angela Merkel told Italy to stop scaring the banks and impose austerity programs on the playful Italians in order to “restore confidence.” Restoring confidence in the euro zone is going to take a bit more than putting more Italians out of work.

Road Rage: A semi hauling 400 beehives wrecked in Idaho Sunday, releasing 14 million bees. The bees were not amused.

Factoid:There are no more Democrats. Obama offered to increase the eligibility age for Medicare to 67 in exchange for a small tax concession from the Republicans, in a bipartisan effort to reduce the deficit. But the anti-deficit bunch isn't really anti-deficit, their real interest is dismantling the social welfare state erected since FDR's days. That's why they are adamant about no tax increases – they know that with no money, eventually the social safety nets will have to be dismantled.

Another Thing: One of the essentials for much of agriculture is phosphate. Mother Nature didn't leave a lot of it around, so supplies are limited. And there is no substitute – which really chafes supply and demand type market economists.

When The Music Stops: The Republicans have forced an end to “extended benefits” for the unemployed and want to reduce food stamps significantly. Has anyone explained to these folks that people that a consumer economy doesn't function without consumers?

On the Up and Up:The Commerce Department reports the May trade deficit rose 14% m/m to $50.2 billion. Most of the deficit resulted from importing petroleum and all that stuff from China for Wal-Mart's shelves.

Follow the Money: The reason the politicians do not give a damn about the 14 million unemployed is because the unemployed do not donate to political campaigns and there are no longer unions to represent the downtrodden. The high unemployment rate is not harming corporate profits, and until corporations tell their politicians to address the mater, nothing is going to happen.

Shame! Those who would shut down Wikileaks seem pretty accepting of Murdoch's News Corp criminal assaults on common decency (not to mention criminal acts). Why are these people getting a free pass? Surely PFC Manning could use some company.

Follow the $: And they never will do anything but try to maintain 10% unemployment. Why go to the third world when you can bring it here? Also, strengthening the middle class has never been lucrative for the upper class.

Our Motto

Keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.